Nobody = The person who doesn't like Sara Lee? Uh, no. Is this a bit of ribbing for the newbie? :PThey = The astronauts of Apollo 11? noRisks = Possibly fumbling over one's words as one becomes the first human to set foot upon the moon? Haha, no.

Was there a C-130 rollin' down the strip? Were there 64 Rangers on a one-way trip? Was their mission Top Secret? Was their destination unknown? Did they even care if they never come home? When their plane got up so high, did paratroopers take to the skies? Did they stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door? Did their knees get weak and they hit the floor? Jumpmaster picked them up with ease? Tossed their knees into the breeze? Did they count one-thousand, two-thousand, three-thousand, four? Did their main open with a mighty roar? But if their main don't open wide, Do they got a reserve by their side? But if that one should fail them too, Look out below they're a-comin' through? If they should die on the old drop zone should we box them up and ship them home? Pin their wings upon their chest And then bury them in the leaning rest? Will if they die on a Chinese hill Take their watch or the commies will? But if they die in the Korean mud Bury them with a case of Bud?

This has nothing to do with that particular song/poem/whatever, and the situation/subject depicted is also a no, but in the spirit of generosity, I'll answer line-by-line since there are a few hints here. Assume everything below is a "no" or FA unless noted, because I'm lazy.

Was there a C-130 rollin' down the strip? Were there 64 Rangers no on a one-way trip yes, ultimately? Was their mission Top Secret? "Theirs" wasn't...Was their destination unknown? no, despite the titleDid they even care if they never come home? yes, they didWhen their plane got up so high, did paratroopers take to the skies? Did they stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door? yopeDid their knees get weak and they hit the floor? yopeJumpmaster picked them up with ease? Tossed their knees into the breeze? Did they count one-thousand, two-thousand, three-thousand, four? Did their main open with a mighty roar? But if their main don't open wide, Do they got a reserve by their side? But if that one should fail them too, Look out below they're a-comin' through? If they should die on the old drop zone should we box them up and ship them home? Pin their wings upon their chest And then bury them in the leaning rest? Will if they die on a Chinese hill yes! one part of this is an FA but should be easy to determineTake their watch or the commies will? mostly irrelevant/FA, but...But if they die in the Korean mud Bury them with a case of Bud?

Ten thousand thanks! : -{ )Is human conflict relevant at all? Did they die? Did they think they were going to die? Did they know the risks? Did they know where they were going? Are hills relevant? China? Communism? Did they want to go home? Did they never go home?

No problem! I'm just worried that no one else seems to be very interested. It's a good puzzle, I promise!

Is human conflict relevant at all? yope Did they die? yes Did they think they were going to die? no, or not initially Did they know the risks? Yope. Be more specific. Did they know where they were going? Yope; explore. Are hills relevant? yesish China? no Communism? yes Did they want to go home? I would certainly imagine yes! Did they never go home? Not alive.

Are any of the remaining "communist states" relevant to the puzzle? Clarify. Currently remaining, or at any time? Is this based on a true story? yes FYOI? so, no Is the setting relevant? yes If so, the location? yes The time frame? yes Is water relevant? yes, but...

Exploration of some sort? Yesish? For svv of "exploration," I guess. Shackleton? Northwest Passage? Neither of these. Did they die? yes Could they have? so, naturally Exact location and time period relevant? They'd certainly help a lot, although it's not inconceivable that the same thing could have happened under different circumstances. How many people involved? 2, 3, 4? More than this. More than 10? But less than this. Than 100?

Afghanistan? no Dead of winter? yes (Well, no, that would be a lot more than 10 people.) FA? Were they in the wilderness yes surrounded by cantankerous natives? but no Australia? America? Africa? None of these.

RECAP: A group of under 10 people died in the mountains of an ex-Communist state in winter. There were risks both in leaving and in staying where they were, but they chose to leave. Their surroundings were relevant in multiple ways, both natural and man-made.

HINTS: Explore specific risks, and try to gather more information about their surroundings.

Were these mountains in {Consider LTPF list of former communist countries, below}?

The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Republic of Angola The People's Republic of Benin The People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of the Congo The Republic of Czechoslovakia The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia The Finnish Democratic Republic The German Democratic Republic The Political Committee of National Liberation The People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada The People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Soviet Republic) The Flag of Cambodia Democratic Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea The Mongolian People's Republic The People's Republic of Mozambique The People's Republic of Poland The People's Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania The Somali Democratic Republic The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Tuvinian People's Republic The Democratic Republic of Vietnam The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Were these mountains in {Consider LTPF list of former communist countries, below}?

The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Republic of Angola The People's Republic of Benin The People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of the Congo The Republic of Czechoslovakia The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia The Finnish Democratic Republic The German Democratic Republic The Political Committee of National Liberation The People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada The People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Soviet Republic) The Flag of Cambodia Democratic Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea The Mongolian People's Republic The People's Republic of Mozambique The People's Republic of Poland The People's Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania The Somali Democratic Republic The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics This one.The Tuvinian People's Republic The Democratic Republic of Vietnam The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Did they depart from the mountains? Did they go from some other area to the mountains? from some place to some other place, crossing the mountains? Did they die in the mountains? Were they in the mountains for professional reasons? (scientists, maybe? or oil explorers?) Did they live in the mountains? Were they hiding there? Did they want to leave the Soviet Union? A wild guess: The Lykov family relevant?

...And since Erinye seems to have disappeared, with Paul's permission I will now be taking questions on this puzzle. Early $p0il3rs please email, as always.

Did they depart from the mountains? No.Did they go from some other area to the mountains? Yes.from some place to some other place, crossing the mountains?Yes.Did they die in the mountains? Yes.Were they in the mountains for professional reasons? (scientists, maybe? or oil explorers?) No.Did they live in the mountains? No.Were they hiding there? No.Did they want to leave the Soviet Union? No.A wild guess: The Lykov family relevant? No.

This doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so I'll reiterate (with some modifications) Erinye's earlier recap and hints, as they're still relevant.

RECAP: A group of under 10 people died in the mountains of the USSR in winter. There were risks both in leaving and in staying where they were, but they chose to leave. Their surroundings were relevant in multiple ways, both natural and man-made.

HINTS: Explore specific risks, and try to gather more information about their surroundings.

Also, BLOOPER: when I said "yesish" in response to "did they freeze to death," "yope" would have been more accurate.

Were the risks in leaving the same as the cause(s) of their death? Or did they manage to avoid the main risk in leaving by dying? Or, did another misfortune befall them, that lead them to die eventually?

If they had stayed, would they have risked freezing? Running out of supplies? Being attacked by other humans? Being attacked by animals? Looking back at the puzzle statement...did the risks of leaving obviously outweigh the risks of staying? Was it irrational to go? Had they recieved new information shortly before leaving? Shortly after?

Were the risks in leaving the same as the cause(s) of their death? Yesish. Or did they manage to avoid the main risk in leaving by dying? No. Or, did another misfortune befall them, that lead them to die eventually? Yope.

If they had stayed, would they have risked freezing? Not more than by leaving. Running out of supplies? Probably not. Being attacked by other humans? Possibly. Being attacked by animals? Possibly.

Looking back at the puzzle statement...did the risks of leaving obviously outweigh the risks of staying? One might think so. Explore. Was it irrational to go? Define "irrational."Had they recieved new information shortly before leaving? Probably, for svv of "information". Shortly after? No.

This is about an event about which a lot is uncertain to this day. So I'm having a hard time answering some of the questions. For example, I don't intend "possibly" to be taken as almost a synonym for "irrelevant."

Understandable, especially since you didn't write the puzzle statement. =)

Were there multiple risks involved in leaving? And only one involved in staying? Were they willing to risk their lives for a reason entirely seperate from chances of survival? Would getting lost be the most relevant risk in leaving?

for svv of information...hm...did a new person enter their group before they left? Did their situation worsen, causing them to leave? Did they hear that people hostile to them were in the area?

Were there multiple risks involved in leaving? Probably, but one in particular stands out. And only one involved in staying? Not necessarily. Were they willing to risk their lives for a reason entirely seperate from chances of survival? Probably not. Would getting lost be the most relevant risk in leaving? Noish.

for svv of information...hm...did a new person enter their group before they left? No. Did their situation worsen, causing them to leave? Almost certainly. Did they hear that people hostile to them were in the area? Possibly.

The risk involved in leaving that stands out -- is it natural (e.g. volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, freezing cold weather)? industrial (e.g. pollution, encroaching development)? human (e.g. people chasing them, war)? internal (e.g. they thought they would have no place to go, they felt like they would lose their culture)? other? Are any of these specific examples the risk in question?

The risk(s) in staying -- is/are they natural? industrial? human? internal? other? Are any of the specific examples above in the "e.g."s relevant risks in staying?

Is where they were before they left relevant? or just where they were when they died? Were they outside? in a cave? in a manmade shelter of some kind? inside a building or buildings?

The risk involved in leaving that stands out -- is it natural (e.g. volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, freezing cold weather This one)? industrial (e.g. pollution, encroaching development)? human (e.g. people chasing them, war)? internal (e.g. they thought they would have no place to go, they felt like they would lose their culture)? other? Are any of these specific examples the risk in question?

The risk(s) in staying -- is/are they natural? Possibly. industrial? human? Possibly this one too. internal? other? Possibly. Are any of the specific examples above in the "e.g."s relevant risks in staying? Not this time.

Is where they were before they left relevant? Yes. or just where they were when they died? As is this. Were they outside? in a cave? in a manmade shelter of some kind? This one. inside a building or buildings?

Did they know the risks of staying? Were these people related to each other? members of a group? relative strangers? Were they fleeing the government? Or were they government types fleeing the people?

The manmade shelter -- tent? lean-to? bunker? igloo?

Just to check, does this puzzle actually take place in the USSR? or in Russia? or some other one of the countries that are former constituent parts of the USSR? I thought it had been asked before, but I can't find it: did this happen in the Ural Mountains?

Did they know the risks of staying? Yes. Were these people related to each other? members of a group? This one. relative strangers? Were they fleeing the government? You're probably getting sick of it, but "It's a strong possibility," is the best answer I can give. Or were they government types fleeing the people? No.

The manmade shelter -- tent? This one. lean-to? bunker? igloo?

Just to check, does this puzzle actually take place in the USSR? Yes. or in Russia? Yes. or some other one of the countries that are former constituent parts of the USSR? So no. I thought it had been asked before, but I can't find it: did this happen in the Ural Mountains? Yes.

Did they want to cross the mountains? (if so: from West to East?) Did they know where to go? Did they lose the direction? Relevant why they have been in the place from which they departed? Was it for professional reasons? did they live there? were they farmers? miners? treasure hunters? Were they indigenous people? Were they prisoners? Were they (ethnical) Russians? citizens of the Soviet Union? Did this happen between 1917 and 1924? (that is, during the civil war and surrounding events in Siberia?) Were these people in any way involved in combat action? Did they have committed any crime before? if so: together? some of them? individually? Did they decide that this place is "no good to stay" because of poisonous minerals? evaporations? radiactivity? evil spirits?

Did they want to cross the mountains? Yes. (if so: from West to East?) But no.Did they know where to go? No.Did they lose the direction? Yes.Relevant why they have been in the place from which they departed? Yes. Was it for professional reasons? did they live there? were they farmers? miners? treasure hunters? No to all.Were they indigenous people? No. Were they prisoners? No. Were they (ethnical) Russians? Yes. citizens of the Soviet Union? Yes.Did this happen between 1917 and 1924? (that is, during the civil war and surrounding events in Siberia?) No.Were these people in any way involved in combat action? No.Did they have committed any crime before? Irrelevant. if so: together? some of them? individually? Did they decide that this place is "no good to stay" because of poisonous minerals? evaporations? radiactivity? evil spirits? No to all.

Did they want to cross the mountains from East to West? from South to North? from North to South? Did they want to reach a particular point on the other side of the mountains? Did they know the basic geography of the region? Did they know where they were at all (at the time when they departed)? Were they all from the same region of Russia? Were they heading for their home? Were they prisoners? prisoners of war? homeless people? tourists?

Did they want to cross the mountains from East to West? from South to North? This one. from North to South? Did they want to reach a particular point on the other side of the mountains? Yes.Did they know the basic geography of the region? Yes.Did they know where they were at all (at the time when they departed)? Yesish.Were they all from the same region of Russia? I believe so, but not really relevant.Were they heading for their home? No.Were they prisoners? prisoners of war? homeless people? tourists? This is closest.

I'm not sure whether this has been asked already .. were these people military? police? or maybe, astronauts on training? hikers? mountain climbers? skiers? Did they go to the place from which they later departed for private reasons? did they have to do a job there? did they want to prove something? The place they wanted to reach behind the mountains: a town or village? a street? an airport? a river? the Arctic Sea?

I'm not sure whether this has been asked already .. were these people military? police? or maybe, astronauts on training? hikers? mountain climbers? skiers? The last two.Did they go to the place from which they later departed for private reasons? Yes. did they have to do a job there? No. did they want to prove something? Noish.The place they wanted to reach behind the mountains: a town or village? This one. a street? an airport? a river? the Arctic Sea?

I'll try a recap: A group of skiers is spending their vacation in the Ural mountains. For reasons we don't know they departed from their place and headed for a town somewhere in the North. They underestimated the weather/climate/distance/terrain and died before they reached their destination.

I'll try a recap: A group of skiers is spending their vacation in the Ural mountains. Correct. For reasons we don't know they departed from their place ...which was what sort of place? and headed for a town somewhere in the North. <b> They underestimated the weather/climate/distance/terrain Noish and died before they reached their destination. But this is correct.

Is there still something to find out? What were they doing on their vacation? Also, what happened that put them in danger?

what sort of place....cabin? campground? did their equipment fail? time frame relevant? weren't the skying on the vacation? why they left= why they left for vacation? or why they left their location? we're they murdered? sorry if some of this has been addressed already, didn't read every post.

what sort of place....cabin? campground? Neither of these. did their equipment fail? No. time frame relevant? Somewhat. weren't the skying on the vacation? Yes. why they left= why they left for vacation? or why they left their location? This one. we're they murdered? It's possible, but probably one of the less likely explanations.

Politically, were these people Communist? If not, would they have still died if they had been Communist? Was the town they were headed toward still within the USSR? Still within Russia? Were they in the mountains purely because they were on vacation and wanted to ski? If so, did the circumstances change while they were up there? If not, was the vacation a front for something? Say, an attempt to flee?

So they were in a tent, on top of a mountain, in the middle of winter, in extreme cold, and it wasn't even a designated campground? Doesn't seem like much of a vacation. Did they have more than one tent? Was anyone else camping in the same vicinity? When they left, did they take their tent(s) with them? Did they fail to take something else that would have helped them stay warm? Something they had in the original scenario? When we talk about a tent, this is a standard pup tent that people take camping with them? A large, relatively permanent tent like they use for weddings? A circus tent? A tent with no sides, like a canopy?

if not campground, campsite? Yes. hmmm...one of the less likely explanations eh? so no definitive answer to this one? Right. i'm a little confused. what are we trying to figure out here? Try to figure out the details of the situation that are known, and in particular, what makes "they left" so mysterious.

Politically, were these people Communist? Assume yes. If not, would they have still died if they had been Communist? So yes. Was the town they were headed toward still within the USSR? Still within Russia? Yes to both. Were they in the mountains purely because they were on vacation and wanted to ski? Yes. If so, did the circumstances change while they were up there? Some of them did, but not the original motivation for the trip. If not, was the vacation a front for something? No. Say, an attempt to flee? So no.

So they were in a tent, on top of a mountain, in the middle of winter, in extreme cold, and it wasn't even a designated campground? Correct. Doesn't seem like much of a vacation. No, it doesn't... Did they have more than one tent? No. Was anyone else camping in the same vicinity? No. When they left, did they take their tent(s) with them? No. Did they fail to take something else that would have helped them stay warm? Yes. Something they had in the original scenario? Yes. When we talk about a tent, this is a standard pup tent that people take camping with them? This one. A large, relatively permanent tent like they use for weddings? A circus tent? A tent with no sides, like a canopy?

Please tell me abouot following ? Forrest Details ? Please clarify.What things they carried with them ? Again, please clarify. Any weapon ? No.forrest was military area ? A secret one and resulting cover-up has been suggested.Destination distance ? 10km? This one. 50km?100km?more Types of animals ? Again, please clarify.Any nuclear faclity around ? A secret one has been suggested -- several of the bodies were found to be highly radioactive.Any details about body found ? Clothes present on body ? none ? minimul ? This, for some of the people. medium ? And this. heavy(fully covered) ? And for some this.threats from Spies from other country ? US ? NATO ? Not this.Any extrenal object ? like UFO (If i am not crazy !!!) Even this has been suggested.

Were there soldiers in the vicinity? A militia of some sort? Is it relevant that the Urals form the border between Europe and Asia? Is it relevant when this happened (other than that it was during the existence of the USSR)? Does it matter who was leading the country at that time? Is technology relevant (not counting tents and skis, of course)? Is the something else that would have kept them warm sleeping bags? Fire starting materials? Chemical warming tools (hand warmers and the like)?

Were there soldiers in the vicinity? This is one theory. A militia of some sort? But not this.Is it relevant that the Urals form the border between Europe and Asia? No.Is it relevant when this happened (other than that it was during the existence of the USSR)? Not particularly.Does it matter who was leading the country at that time? No.Is technology relevant (not counting tents and skis, of course)? Noish.Is the something else that would have kept them warm sleeping bags? Yes. Fire starting materials? Yes. Chemical warming tools (hand warmers and the like)? I don't believe so.

A group of people is camping and skiing in the Ural mountains of Russia. Something happened to scare them into leaving quickly, without their tents, sleeping bags, fire starting materials, or even some of their clothes. No one knows why, but there are a lot of theories. They all died.

It seems like the only thing left to figure out is why they left, but you've said several times that no one knows why they left. So what is left to figure out?

I've just come across this puzzle and am pretty sure that i know the incident that the puzzle is referring . However I'd say given the mysterious nature of the incident, the lack of a full and widely accepted explanation, and numerous conspiracy theories it's going to be a difficult one to spoyle accurately.

Also I am 99.9% sure what incident this puzzle is referring to. I don't think there's much to dicover, given the fact that the details are not without controversy (maybe only, as suggested earlier, those details that make 'they left' mysterious)

I've just come across this puzzle and am pretty sure that i know the incident that the puzzle is referring . However I'd say given the mysterious nature of the incident, the lack of a full and widely accepted explanation, and numerous conspiracy theories it's going to be a difficult one to spoyle accurately.

Should i just go ahead and post what i'm pretty sure it is? Given that Noel is right that there's not much left to discover (the only thing I wanted to be explored was why "they left" should be so surprising) and that this puzzle has been running ten months anyway, go for it.

In the Dyatlov Pass incident , Nine ski hikers in the Ural Mountains abandoned their camp in the middle of the night in apparent terror, some clad only in their underwear despite sub-zero weather. Six of the hikers died of hypothermia and three by unexplained fatal injuries. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, one victim had a fatal skull fracture, two had major chest fractures (comparable in force to a car accident), and one was missing her tongue. The victims' clothing also contained high levels of radiation. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths, barring entry to the area for years thereafter.

*****SPOILER***** In January 1959, a group of ten ski hikers set out to cross the northern Ural Mountains from a settlement called Vizhai to a mountain called Otorten. One of the ten, Yuri Yudin, remained at Vizhai due to sickness, but the others departed on January 27. On February 1, the nine lost their way in a snowstorm and were forced to set up camp near the top of Kholat Syakhl. (Incidentally, in the local language, Otorten means "don't go there" and Kholat Syakhl means "mountain of the dead.")

On February 20, when eight days had passed without any word from the leader of the expedition, Igor Dyatlov, a rescue operation set out. They found the last camp of the group on February 26 on Kholat Syakhl -- the tent had been cut open from the inside and five of the bodies were found further down the mountain -- two near a dead fire, shoeless and wearing only underwear, and three more, including Dyatlov, apparently attempting to return to the camp and wearing some of the clothing from the other two. These were all concluded to have died of hypothermia. Footprints indicated that all the hikers had left the camp on foot, of their own accord.

The other four were found several months later -- they had been buried under the snow, and had serious injuries -- one had major skull damage, and two had major chest fractures. One was missing her tongue.

Aside from the inexplicableness of the situation itself -- why would experienced hikers cut open their tent from inside ("leave"), when this meant certain death in the bitter cold (-30 C) -- the deaths raised questions that have never been answered. Forensic tests showed high doses of radiation on some of the bodies. Family members claimed that the skin of the dead hikers had a strange orange tan. A group of hikers about 50 kilometers to the south on the night of February 1 reported seeing orange spheres in the night sky in the direction of Kholat Syakhl. Reports suggested the presence of scrap metal in the area, leading to speculation about a military cover-up. More mundane explanations include avalanches, but no explanation is quite convincing. The official report attributed the deaths to an "unknown compelling force" -- and banned entrance to the area for three years.

Yuri Yudin, the one survivor (by virtue of not actually going on the trip beyond Vizhai due to sickness) has said "If I had a chance to ask God just one question, it would be 'What happened to my friends that night?'"

That's the one . I remember the song very well but would have struggled to come up with Joan Osborne. It's a pretty cool track with terrific lyrics. As usual this song caused lots of controversy with some people claiming it was an attack on catholism which is nonsense IMHO. Here's my fav lyric from the song.

"If God had a face what would it look like And would you want to see If seeing meant that you would have to believe In things like heaven and in jesus and the saints and all the prophets"